parking or blueing??

[kell2784]

Now that I've acquired a couple of P17/P14's actions, I am looking at starting the projects right. The sample's of parking I've seen here (thanks Mr.Clark ) are phenomenal (and Canadian too boot), but many good gunsmiths can hot reblue to a great level too. I'm not cutting any corners with these projects, and don't want them to look like old junk when I'm done. Will a good park last a rifle's lifetime, or wear prematurely in certain situations? Should I just stick with a quality hot reblue?
If anyone has a good contact of someone that can do either, pm me. I don't want anyone getting mod slapped for advertising without fees.

 

[sunray]

Bluing is a controlled rust finish. Parkerizing is a coating. Parkerizing is more durable and holds oil. You need to decide if you want a shiny finish or not.

 

[tiriaq]

Of course if you want a matte/eggshell finish, hot blue over a beadblasted surface is an option. Decide on the basis of the appearance that you prefer.

 

[kell2784]

I should have made this a poll. What do many people prefer for a finish? I don't want a shiny finish, but what I do want is something very durable, and preferably a matte finish. I see most arms either blued or painted, with parkerizing being rarer of the three. I'm curious why? To me, parking seems the highest quality of protection for a valuble firearm.

 

[Winz]

Depending on the use and preference of the firearm.

Lots of people like that sleek shiny look of a nice blued gun. Parkerizing is an 'older' perhaps cruder looking coat that is usable and effective. New spray, bake and what have you coating can also be tough as nails.

Parkerizing is probably the cheapest and care free to do.

 

[prosper]

Parking is a little more forgiving as well as far as surface prep goes. Because it's matte, and a coating on top of the metal, it can make blemishes less noticable and act to 'fill' some of the more minor ones. Blueing, OTOH, shows any surface characteristics very very well, so the prep better be extremely consistent across. If you can polish the metal to a mirror shine before applying bluing, it'll be very attractive (although I'm told it'll be a thinner finish and not as protective)

 

[762shooter]

Parkerizing is easy to prep for, just bead blast and parkerize. Parkerizing is a superior finish in terms of durability and protection of the underlying steel. P-17s will parkerize "2 tone" with the action a different shade of gray than the barrel. This is due to the case hardened receiver of the P-17. The P-14 action is not case hardened so should parkerize to about the same shade as the barrel. I parkerized a P-17 and quite liked the 2 tone look.